Happy Birthday, Devashree!

Devashree smiled in her sleep as she dreamt of a lavish party where her friends celebrated her birthday showering her with froth and gifts. A luscious cake on the table caught her attention...

*DING DONG DING DONG*

Devashree woke up with a start.

"Gosh! Who can it be at this time?" she groaned as she checked her watch. It was just four in the morning. She gasped as the bell rang again.

*DING DONG DING DONG*

Devashree shivered in fright. She had just moved into the small flat,which had been previously inhabited by a rumoured insane scientist. She crept towards the room where the sound seemingly had its origin.

She had never entered this room before. It resembled a proper working laboratory from any random television programme.

A minor scream escaped her lips as she saw a tall, lean figure forming within the greatest of the machines. In a few seconds, a dark lady, clad in red walked down gracefully from the dais.

Devashree stared at her while the lady looked around and gave her a puzzled look.

"What place is this? Why have I been brought here?" she spoke in a firm voice. Recognizing Sanskrit, Devashree replied, "This is my flat. I stay here. Who are you, Miss?"

"I am Draupadi, wife of the five illustrious sons of Maharaj Pandu, daughter to valliant Drupad, mother to the Upapandavs and the muh-boli sister of Govind Krishna. Also I am the-"

"Oh, fine. I get it. I do see the joke behind your sudden arrival in the middle of the night and I'd rather you be gone-"

She stopped realizing that the lady had already swept past her and she was left talking to the long trail of her saree. Devashree hurried out of that room and caught up with her. "You don't actually mean you're the real Draupadi?"

"How many Draupadis have you seen in your life?"

"Umm, on TV, yeah, some twice or thrice, but you don't mean it right?" The lady turned back to face her, her jewellery clattering and clinking. "I am Draupadi, the queen of Aryavart. And what's a tee-wii?"

"You don't know what a TV is? Well, yeah you're from Dwapar yug and it's Kali yug now. It is something in which you can see what other people are doing." Devashree explained in what she thought was the simplest way to. She switched on the television and asked Draupadi to sit and watch.

Devashree wandered away to the kitchen, dazed by what she had just seen. Was the contraption really a time machine?

Her train of thought was derailed by a now screaming Draupadi. "HOW DARE YOU KEEP SUCH DANGEROUS CREATURES INSIDE THIS BOX! Wait till the Samrat hears of it!" It was quite sometime before she recollected that she had been watching The Jurassic Park the previous night.

Well, that explained the screaming.

Devashree tried hard to keep her temper in check over the day as Draupadi quizzed her about everything she laid her eyes on. Finally, she had taken refuge in her broken laptop whenever Draupadi approached her with a 'Hey Govind!', her trademark exclaim of surprise. Strangely, no one had even called up to check on how she was getting along on her first birthday in a new city, a fact Devashree couldn't digest.

"What happened my dear?" asked Draupadi, noticing her sadness. Devashree forced a smile, "Nothing much. It's my birthday today. No one's called yet."

"Hey Govind! You should've told me earlier! Happy birthday dear! Wait till I get back to Indraprastha. I'd send you the most beaut